Iran to meet with six world powers in April

Iran and six other world powers have agreed to meet on 13 April for talks about the country's nuclear programme, but according to various sources the delegates are having trouble deciding on a venue. A formal announcement about the forthcoming meeting is yet to be made.

Speaking about it, however, three Western diplomats linked to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the starting date is set and they expect the venue dispute to be resolved in time.

The on-going squabbles between Iran and the world powers over the location after days of talks appeared to reflect the deep differences that have doomed previous meetings, during which Iran refused to observe international demands that it curb its nuclear activities.

The US and its Western allies have agreed on a number of punishing sanctions in recent weeks designed to add weight to UN penalties on Iran because of its enrichment programme, while attempting to convince Israel that there is no need to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

Sources: AFP, Reuters, Bloomberg

For more news and expert analysis about Iran, please see Iran Strategic Focus.